Factors influencing undrained strength of fine-grained soils at high water contents

ABSTRACT

Following the standard testing procedures, many well-cited publications report variations in undrained strength at the liquid limit obtained by both percussion cup and fall-cone tests. Assuming fixed strength of undrained strength at liquid limit and plastic limit was a matter of convenience. Based on the carefully conducted experiments, it can be observed that the undrained strength at high water contents is not only a function of water content as indicated by the liquid limit, but also significantly influenced by the clay mineral present in the soil. Therefore, soil type as indicated by the soil plasticity, and hence, presence of dominant clay mineral type in the soil has a significant influence on the undrained strength of soils at the liquid limit.

KEYWORDS:

• Undrained strength
• clays
• liquid limit
• clay mineralogy
• fine-grained soils

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the discussers for raising some queries and seeking clarifications on the fundamentals aspects of undrained strength at the liquid limit. This has prompted the authors to better their understanding on the topic of their study presented in the paper which is under discussion. This would also bring more clarity in understanding the fundamentals aspects on this topic.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.